Longtime La Liga reporter Sid Lowe indicates the decision made by Lionel Messi to formally inform Barcelona he wishes to leave "has been building for a very, very long time."

"And don't believe that this is a momentary flash of anger from Messi, either," writes Lowe. "This has been building for a very, very long time. And you don't serve formal notice just because you're a bit pissed off. Messi is very, very, very pissed off. But he has also thought about this. A lot."

Carles Puyol and Luis Suarez have been amongst people to Tweet support of Messi, showing how the situation is not "just about Messi. This is an almighty mess, on many levels."